Photos taken in 2006

Joe Davis Stadium is one of those oddball baseball parks built in the 1980's before the new wave of minor league stadiums. So what Huntsville is left with is a large, concrete, sterile stadium (not ballpark). And it doesn't help that the team has made no effort whatsoever to spruce it up. The park has an odd seating configuration as it's also used for football. Because of this, the seating extends all the way down to the left field corner, meaning many of the seats are a mile from the field. Of course with the small crowds that Huntsville draws, not many of the seats get used anyhow. The seating is broken up into 3 types : lower box, upper reserved, and GA (which are just bleachers). The box and reserved seats, which are green fold downs, were recently replaced. But this appears to be the only renovations that have been done since the park opened in 1985. The concourse is situated under the seating area and out of view from the field. Concessions are one of the few highlights I could find at Joe Davis. There is a good variety of items including BBQ, brats, Philly steaks, and chicken sandwiches. The combo plates (w/ fries and soda) are a good bargain at $7-$8. The atmosphere here is pretty laid back, with no sound effects and not much music, but is also rather depressing because of the sparse crowds. It's easy to see why some people have called Joe Davis Stadium the "mausoleum." The team does have a mascot, Homer the Polecat (who looks like Mickey Mouse), though not sure what a polecat has to do with the space theme. At least the mascot was pretty active as he was seen signing kids' heads for the last few innings. Even the location here is unattractive - it's set on the outskirts of town with no view to speak of. This will obviously never be a great baseball park, but I just wish the team would make more of an effort. The night I attended a game, the linescore portion of the scoreboard wasn't working and there was no program inserts (apparently because the employee responsible was "on vacation"). Also, the interior could be spruced up just by painting some of the concrete or draping some banners over it. Like the park in Greenville, Joe Davis Stadium was just built at the wrong time, which is why just 20 years later it can feel so out of date. With the team making little effort and attendance dwindling, it seems likely that baseball won't survive in Huntsville much longer unless a new ballpark is built. It appeared that 2014 would be the last season for pro baseball at Joe Davis Stadium, as it was announced that the team would be moving to a new ballpark in Biloxi. However, with the ballpark behind schedule, it is unclear whether the Stars (now the Biloxi Shuckers) will play at least a portion of their 2015 schedule in Huntsville.